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slowworm

[ sloh-wurm ]
/ ˈsloʊˌwɜrm /
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noun

blindworm (def. 2).

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
their
there
they're
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Origin of slowworm

before 900; slow + worm; replacing Middle English slowerm, slowurme,Old English slāwerm, slāwyrm, equivalent to slā- (compare dialectal Swedish slo,Norwegian slō slowworm) + wyrm worm

Words nearby slowworm

slow virus, slow virus disease, slow wave, slow-wave sleep, slow-witted, slowworm, sloyd, S.L.P., SLR, SLSC, slub
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for slowworm

  • A silvery creature like a slowworm came crawling out from among them, slowly crossed the clay floor, and crept into the fire.

    Lilith|George MacDonald

  • Since then a large silvery slowworm was killed just there—a great pity, for they are perfectly harmless.

    Field and Hedgerow|Richard Jefferies

  • But the blindworm, or slowworm, as this creature is called, is perfectly harmless.

    The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood

  • They are wrong; and they must be told that they are wrong, and scolded if they kill a slowworm.

    Madam How and Lady Why|Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for slowworm

slowworm
/ (ˈsləʊˌwɜːm) /

noun

a Eurasian legless lizard, Anguis fragilis, with a brownish-grey snakelike body: family AnguidaeAlso called: blindworm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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